USA Wrestling has announced that National Teams Director Mitch Hull will leave the organization to return to Wisconsin for other career opportunities. 

He will serve as the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Regional Training Center and serve as a volunteer coach with the Badger Wrestling Club program.

Hull has been the National Teams Director for USA Wrestling since June 1992, providing 21 years of leadership to the organization. He coordinated and supervised all aspects of USA Wrestling’s international programs, including working with the National Team Coaching staffs in all three Olympic wrestling styles.

“For many years, Mitch Hull has had a major impact on our Senior-level programs. The success of our National Team programs is a direct result of Mitch Hull’s tireless efforts for our sport and his commitment to move the program forward. He will be sorely missed. We are hopeful that he will remain involved with USA Wrestling programs through his new career endeavor,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.

“My 20-plus years with USA Wrestling were among the greatest years I have ever had. To work with our National Governing Body for wrestling and partner with the U.S. Olympic Committee was like a dream for me. I was blessed to be able to serve for two decades in that role. Not many people have been around excellence like that for so long, the kind of excellence that USA Wrestling stands for and the U.S. Olympic Committee stands for,” said Hull.

USA Wrestling’s National Teams program is overseen by Associate Executive Director for Programs and Strategy Les Gutches. The structure and management of this program is being reviewed and revised to meet the needs of a growing organization which faces a more challenging competitive environment on the World and Olympic levels.

 During Hull’s tenure, the United States won the World Team Title in freestyle wrestling in 1993 and 1995, the Women’s World Championships in 1999 and the Greco-Roman World Championships in 2007. The U.S. won the most medals of any nation in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics.    

Under Hull’s direction, the United States won 102 medals in the three international styles at the World Championships, including 28 gold medals. At the Olympic Games during his tenure, the United States won 36 Olympic medals in the three styles, including 12 Olympic gold medals.

Hull joined USA Wrestling from Purdue Univ., where he served as the Head Wrestling Coach from 1988-92. Hull served as assistant coach at Purdue from 1986-88. He was an assistant coach for the Univ. of Wisconsin from 1982-86 and a graduate assistant coach there from 1980-82. He received a bachelor’s degree in business from Wisconsin in 1980 and has advanced credits towards his Masters degree in athletic administration.    

Hull was a two-time NCAA All-American for the University of Wisconsin. He was one of the few U.S. wrestlers ever to compete in both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman World Championships. He won two U.S. Nationals freestyle titles (1981-82) and finished second in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 1984. Hull was a Junior National double champion, winning both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Hull’s return to Wisconsin allows him to move back to his home state, work alongside his alma mater and spend more time with family who live in the region.

“This is a great opportunity for both programs. Often, great things happen through change. My goal was to leave things better than when I started, and I fully expect USA Wrestling to continue to improve with its future leadership. I am excited about my new position and looking forward to the challenge of building the program there,” said Hull.

He expects to play a different role within USA Wrestling in a volunteer basis in many ways.

“It has been a privilege to be part of this for 20 years. I will still be active in the sport, helping develop the university that I attended and build the wrestling community in the state where I grew up,” said Hull.